Since the Archives were intended as a memorial to Toscanini, and since their avowed primary objective is the collection and preservation of autograph scores in particular, the focus of the Archives has been on the music of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Archives' formal opening coincided with the move in 1965 of the Library's Music Division from 42nd Street to a new building in Lincoln Center.
Under the guidance of the first curator, Sydney Beck, and two enthusiastic friends of the late Arturo Toscanini, Carolyn Perera and Dorle Soria, an initial endowment was raised, files describing the location of manuscript sources were developed, and initial orders were placed. The realization of the project, however, did not occur until the 1960s. The conception of such a collection of musical autographs on microfilm dates back to the 1930s when it had the active support of the great conductor Arturo Toscanini. A list of over 600 selected titles in the Archives, including symphonic, chamber, sacred, and operatic works, follows this report. Over 3,000 items are presently listed in the catalogs, representing a wide range of vocal and instrumental music. The Toscanini Memorial Archives are a unique microfilm collection of autographs and primary sources for major musical works. Having disposed of the negatives, let us turn to the positive aspects of the collection. Films in the Archives are open to on-site examination, however, by any interested person at The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center in New York. Agreements made with libraries and individuals almost invariably preclude the possibility of outside copying without the express permission of the current owner.
Second, the Toscanini Memorial Archives cannot supply copies from the films in the collection since they are not the owners of the original materials. The Archives are rather a collection of original sources for important musical works gathered together on microfilm as a memorial to the conductor, who believed that a musical artist should have access to this primary information when studying a work for performance.
It may seem perverse to begin a report like this with one negative, let alone two, but experience has shown that it is wise to correct from the start two common misapprehensions about the Toscanini Memorial Archives.įirst, the Toscanini Memorial Archives are not in any way connected with the personal collection of scores and recordings belonging to the late maestro Arturo Toscanini.
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